Cerezo Osaka keen to go all the way in ACL return

Kenyu Sugimoto sees no reason why Cerezo Osaka cannot win the AFC Champions League as they prepare for their first appearance since 2014.

After a successful 2017 saw them win both the Emperor’s Cup and J.League Cup and finish third in the J1 League, Cerezo are currently about to compete in Asia’s premier club competition for only the third time in their history.

On both their previous appearances – in 2011 and 2014 – they managed to advance to the knockout round, but this year will be especially tough given they will be competing against Guangzhou Evergrande, Jeju United and Buriram United in Group G.

Nonetheless, having seen fellow Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds go on to win it last year, Cerezo striker Sugimoto believes there is every chance they can do something similar in 2018.

We had a training match with National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya today (three 40-minute games and one 20-minute game), in which Kenyu Sugimoto scored the opening goal, heading home a cross from Hiroshi Kiyotake⚽️ #SakuraSpectaclepic.twitter.com/TUZHIOSAar